Re: PCOS and Insulin Resistance Syndrome

[Guest guest]

> I know what PCOS is and how it is caused. That's when your ovaries

> are diseased and covered in cysts. Simply put, it's caused by out-

of-

> whack hormones, and it's fixed with good nutrition, some glandular

> extracts, and perhaps a few herbs.

>

> I don't think I'm really clear as to what Insulin Ristance. Is that

> when you become desensitized to insulin and thus require more of

it?

Hi Brad

Yes, that's it. Basically, it is when your blood sugar storage

receptors become full, and more and more insulin is needed to store

more bood sugar. So the pancreas pumps out more and more insulin,

which is travelling around the blood and knocking other hormones out

of balance.

Whether PCOS causes IR or IR causes PCOS is not known, but certainly

1 hormone out of balance is known to unbalance other hormones.

> How does one become desensitized to insulin, and why is it bad?

It is bad, because blood sugar levels remain very high, which is a

pre-cursor to type 2 diabetes. High blood sugar over many years can

lead to retinal degeneration, amputation of limbs and other nasties.

Over-secretion of insulin puts a strain on the pancreas, and

eventually the pancreas may not be able to produce insulin.

Mainly, I don't understand how

> InsulinResistance could cause PCOS. I can comprehend that the two

> diseases would have a common cause, but how could Insulin

Resistance

> cause PCOS?

>

The best way to treat PCOS will be a low carb diet. The best book

for good health through diet is, in my opinion, The Schwarzbein

Principle. A healthy diet will help to regulate hormones, including

insulin, adrenaline and cortisol. Cutting out refined carbs,

processed foods, stimulants and OTC drugs should help to reverse

PCOS. It will also reverse other health problems created by low

fat/poor dieting. IMO, NT will be too high in sugar/starches for her,

unless she uses the recipes within another low carb plan.

All this is just my opinion, but I suffer from hormonal problems

myself (although not specifically PCOS) and know how much a healthy

diet with no refined foods can help.

There are plenty of resources on the internet about PCOS and diet.

HTH

Jo

[Guest guest]

At 09:05 PM 2/5/03 +0000, Brad wrote:

>My aunt has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and the doctor says that it

>is caused by her Insulin Resistance Syndrome. My aunt does not

>practice or " believe in " nourishing traditions but she recently asked

>for advice from me (!). She wants to know what PCOS and Insulin

>Resistance are, what causes them, and how I think she should treat

>them.

Dr. Lee's hormone test

<http://www.johnleemd.net/forms/hb_test.html>http://www.johnleemd.net/forms/

hb_test.html puts PCOS in group 5 excess androgens brought on by sugar and

simple carbs. Had PCOS along with hypoglycemia on high carbs. Echinacea is

good

for all cyst conditions but low carb will rid her of both the insulin

resistance and the PCOS.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

At 09:05 PM 2/5/03 +0000, Brad wrote:

>I assume that Insulin Resistance is a problem with the adrenals and

>therefore must be caused by refined carbs and other adrenal damaging

>foods in addition to a lack of adrenal-protecting foods (good fats

>and stuff like that).

You've made an interesting point here, Brad. The adrenal body type carries

most

of their weight from the waist to the thighs generally in front only. Anyone

with a pot belly is considered insulin resistant in Lights Out! Sleep, Sugar

and Survival. This talks about the hormones Jo mentioned. I never had a large

belly but if I do gain weight those are the two places it goes. I know I

exhausted my adrenals prior to the severe blood sugar problems and another

ovarian cyst problem a year later that I had treated with acupuncture instead

of the knife like the first time.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

I always hear about how everyone who has a stomach/overweight (and family

history of diabetes) is insulin resistant, but my fasting blood sugar is

92. It never makes any sense to me. Does anyone else have a clue?

Robin

From: Wanita Sears <wanitawa@...>

Reply-

Subject: Re: PCOS and Insulin Resistance Syndrome

Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 21:08:44 -0500

At 09:05 PM 2/5/03 +0000, Brad wrote:

>I assume that Insulin Resistance is a problem with the adrenals and

>therefore must be caused by refined carbs and other adrenal damaging

>foods in addition to a lack of adrenal-protecting foods (good fats

>and stuff like that).

You've made an interesting point here, Brad. The adrenal body type carries

most

of their weight from the waist to the thighs generally in front only. Anyone

with a pot belly is considered insulin resistant in Lights Out! Sleep, Sugar

and Survival. This talks about the hormones Jo mentioned. I never had a

large

belly but if I do gain weight those are the two places it goes. I know I

exhausted my adrenals prior to the severe blood sugar problems and another

ovarian cyst problem a year later that I had treated with acupuncture

instead

of the knife like the first time.

Wanita

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[Guest guest]

> I always hear about how everyone who has a stomach/overweight (and

family

> history of diabetes) is insulin resistant, but my fasting blood

sugar is

> 92. It never makes any sense to me. Does anyone else have a clue?

>

> Robin

>

hi Robin

It is possible to be fat without having being very insulin

resistant. Where do you carry your fat? Around the middle or

everywhere? What is your waist:hip measurement ratio?

Insulin sensitivity is the precursor to insulin resistance. IS wil

still make you gain weight. I've just been reading aobut this in The

Schwarzbein Principle II, which is an excellent book, and well worth

a read.

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the US measurement for blood sugar.

Jo

[Guest guest]

That's interesting. I'll have to look for that new book. I haven't heard

about " insulin sensitivity " as opposed to " insulin resistance " . 92 is

considered very normal and too low for insulin resistance. I do have a

stomach , but I have very wide hips/butt and a narrow waist, so my

waist/hip ratio is within " normal " range.

Thanks,

Robin

From: " jopollack2001 <jopollack2001@...> " <jopollack2001@...>

Reply-

Subject: Re: PCOS and Insulin Resistance Syndrome

Date: Thu, 06 Feb 2003 18:29:28 -0000

> I always hear about how everyone who has a stomach/overweight (and

family

> history of diabetes) is insulin resistant, but my fasting blood

sugar is

> 92. It never makes any sense to me. Does anyone else have a clue?

>

> Robin

>

hi Robin

It is possible to be fat without having being very insulin

resistant. Where do you carry your fat? Around the middle or

everywhere? What is your waist:hip measurement ratio?

Insulin sensitivity is the precursor to insulin resistance. IS wil

still make you gain weight. I've just been reading aobut this in The

Schwarzbein Principle II, which is an excellent book, and well worth

a read.

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the US measurement for blood sugar.

Jo

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[Guest guest]

At 01:18 PM 2/6/03 -0500, you wrote:

>I always hear about how everyone who has a stomach/overweight (and family

>history of diabetes)  is insulin resistant, but my fasting blood sugar is

>92.  It never makes any sense to me.  Does anyone else have a clue?

>

>Robin

How do you feel at 92, Robin? Weak, shaky? The two tests I had were fine to

the

test takers but I felt like a braindead heap. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

preceeds diabetes. BTW, my description of the adrenal type was actually the

thyroid type. Had the cold constitution and thinning hair of hypothyroidism

but

not the weight gain. Here's a good adrenal/thyroid connection article

<http://personal.lig.bellsouth.net/w/u/wurmstei/#ADREN>http://personal.lig.

bellsouth.net/w/u/wurmstei/#ADREN

Wanita

[Guest guest]

I don't feel weak or shaky, or really sick in any way, and I'm not cold all

the time, etc. I had all the more complicated thyroid tests, i.e.

antibodies, uptake, etc. They were normal.

Robin

From: Wanita Sears <wanitawa@...>

Reply-

Subject: Re: PCOS and Insulin Resistance Syndrome

Date: Thu, 06 Feb 2003 15:22:52 -0500

At 01:18 PM 2/6/03 -0500, you wrote:

>I always hear about how everyone who has a stomach/overweight (and family

>history of diabetes)  is insulin resistant, but my fasting blood sugar is

>92.  It never makes any sense to me.  Does anyone else have a clue?

>

>Robin

How do you feel at 92, Robin? Weak, shaky? The two tests I had were fine to

the

test takers but I felt like a braindead heap. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

preceeds diabetes. BTW, my description of the adrenal type was actually the

thyroid type. Had the cold constitution and thinning hair of hypothyroidism

but

not the weight gain. Here's a good adrenal/thyroid connection article

<http://personal.lig.bellsouth.net/w/u/wurmstei/#ADREN>http://personal.lig.

bellsouth.net/w/u/wurmstei/#ADREN

Wanita

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[Guest guest]

Robin said:

>I don't feel weak or shaky, or really sick in any way, and I'm not cold all

>the time, etc. I had all the more complicated thyroid tests, i.e.

>antibodies, uptake, etc. They were normal.

Jo can probably go into more detail than me, seeing as I'm Jane Foreigner, but

here in the UK you're unlikely to get tested unless your symptoms are at the

extreme ends of the scale. Even so, most doctors don't test for...T3/T4 levels.

I find it fascinating, as I'm absolutely convinced I have a thyroid problem.

Unless you all find temps of 97F/36.1C (and lower) 'normal' too. Good grief, I

break out into a sweat at 98F/36.8C! My hands and feet can be ice cold even

with sweat seeping through my clothing, I have great difficulty losing weight, I

had sudden weight gain for no apparent reason, along with long-term depression,

etc, etc, etc. You'd think I'd be a big candidate for PCOS, but thankfully,

that's not something I have. As for being insulin resistant, who knows? I

don't have a clue as to its tested for. I did have a diabetes test a few years

ago, as my maternal grandmother died from it, and my mother had gestational

diabetes carrying me. I figured that at my weight I was a prime candidate, but

everything came back normal.

::shrug::

Dryad

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http://www.puritycontrol.co.uk - XF rec's at The Grove, updated 2/1/03